Edited by Rosmarina (whose advice and assistance are much appreciated). Please do not reproduce this story without permission.
== Chapter 7 ==
Chloe and I were hurtling down the highway in her beat up Mercedes. After our threesome with Carlos and Chloe's goodbyes to him, my best friend was determined to get to her business meeting with Bryan on time. I kept the many questions I had in my head to myself because I wanted her to concentrate on her driving. My friend was not a very good driver, being somewhat impetuous, and she was already a bit distracted by her own thoughts and emotions. Occasionally she muttered some obviously negative comment about the forthcoming meeting. So much had already happened today, and I was left to wonder what would happen next.
Fortunately, after only a few displays of temperament from my friend, such as blasting her horn at the occasional excessively slow driver, we got there in one piece. We found somewhere to park, and once we got to the cafe where the meeting had been arranged Chloe relaxed a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. Chloe hated to be late, and although not early as she preferred, we were roughly on time. In fact we'd arrived before Bryan had.
"Just like him to be late!" Chloe said in a tone dripping with contempt, which was strange because as far as I knew she'd never met the guy. Regardless of whether that was the case it was clear she already had a strong opinion about him. Since we now had some time to spare, my friend told me some of what was on her mind.
Apparently, this Bryan guy was now the person she was going to have to deal with if she wanted to get work from the theatre company with which she'd had a contract for several years. "I have so many good memories of the Blue Mask Company," Chloe sighed as she talked about the reasons behind the meeting. Blue Mask Theatre Company was the place where she'd met Carlos, and he had been very supportive of her long before they'd a relationship. But since Carlos had decided to leave for Canada, he was no longer able to be of any help to her.
"It's not that I need an inside track or anything," she added, "but from what I hear this Bryan character is only out to promote himself and he'll try to undermine anyone he thinks might stand in his way." Chloe's talent was widely recognised, and she got work solely due to having the required skills and creativity but it was always helpful to have a friend who was not involved in the internal politics that are often rife in the arts community. I was certainly well aware of all the scheming and backstabbing that went on in the theatre world from my work as an arts administrator. But I'd given up that job about a year ago as part of my desire to concentrate more on serving Master at a deeper level (with his agreement of course).
So I was now out of the loop about recent developments, and since Bryan had only arrived on the scene a few months ago I knew nothing about him. Another feature of the arts community is the constant coming and going of people, so you really need to be on the ground constantly to know what's happening. "I've been told that he's a really arrogant bastard, and that he has his own agenda," Chloe said as we walked towards the far side of the restaurant. Listening to her comments I was thinking there was nothing new about Bryan being the arrogant type, but I knew this also meant that he would not hesitate to cut Chloe out if he wanted to promote others who would then be beholden to him. That is often the way things work in an industry dominated by a small group of creative people who are often very competitive and ego-driven.
Chloe chose a booth that was as far as possible from the large open area where a lot of people were sitting at small tables. "I want to sit somewhere quiet and out of the way," she told me. We sat down on the same side of the booth leaving the opposite side for Bryan when he deigned to appear. Even after we were seated Chloe seemed restless and distracted. She fidgeted with a paper napkin that was on the table and said, "Carlos warned me to be very careful in dealing with Bryan. He's apparently well known for using his position to further his own interests." Chloe looked quite agitated. She added, "I'm sure that Bryan is going to tell me he doesn't want to renew my contract. Maybe I should try a creative approach with him... I've got nothing to lose."
Normally my friend was rather careful about how she dealt with people. She never liked to offend or alienate anyone, no matter what she thought of them privately. What Chloe had just said indicated that she was feeling quite desperate. While she worked for many different groups and organisations, her work with the Blue Mask Theatre group was the only ongoing contract position she had, and accounted for a large part of her income. Other jobs occasionally came along, but this type of work lacked continuity and was totally unpredictable. Losing her main contract so suddenly would certainly have a major impact on her lifestyle.
Chloe started muttering about Bryan again, and to distract her I asked how things had gone with Carlos as I had not heard much of their conversion. I'd left them to talk privately, since that was their last chance to do so before he had to leave for the airport. But of course I was wondering what had been said. Chloe told me, "Carlos really appreciated my gesture of giving him a farewell fuck, and he was delighted I brought you along." She smiled at me and seemed to have forgotten about her meeting with Bryan for a moment. "What man would not love the opportunity to fuck two pretty girls!" she added with a grin.
She suddenly looked thoughtful again and said that things had been sorted out amicably enough, but added that when she'd asked him about Bryan, Carlos had become quite upset. It seems that by leaving his position, Carlos had unwittingly provided an opening which Bryan had used to his advantage. Bryan was just the type to seize any opportunity and Carlos was very unhappy about leaving people he cared about vulnerable to someone like Bryan for whom scheming and manipulation were second nature. Carlos also warned Chloe that Bryan would try to get rid of her, so as to increase his influence. At the same time, Carlos was hurt. "He blames me a little, " confessed Chloe. "He said that it was only because I'd ended our relationship that he'd decided to leave his position." So that was why Carlos had looked rather unhappy when we left...